The Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) is an in vitro method for enzymatically synthesizing or amplifying defined nucleic acid sequences. The reaction typically uses two oligonucleotide primers that hybridize to opposite strands and flank a template or target DNA sequence that is to be amplified. Elongation of the primers is catalyzed by a heat-stable DNA polymerase. A repetitive series of cycles involving template denaturation, primer annealing, and extension of the annealed primers by the polymerase provides an exponential accumulation of a specific DNA fragment. Fluorescent probes or markers are typically used in the process to facilitate detection and quantification of the amplification process
A typical kinetic PCR curve is shown in FIG. 1A, where fluorescence intensity values are plotted vs. cycle number for a typical PCR process. In this case, the formation of PCR products is monitored in each cycle of the PCR process. The amplification is usually measured in thermocyclers which include components and devices for measuring fluorescence signals during the amplification reaction. An example of such a thermocycler is the Roche Diagnostics LightCycler (Cat. No. 20110468). The amplification products are, for example, detected by means of fluorescent labeled hybridization probes which only emit fluorescence signals when they are bound to the target nucleic acid or in certain cases also by means of fluorescent dyes that bind to double-stranded DNA.
However, errors can arise in the data, thereby causing errors in the analysis of the data and resulting physical properties (e.g., quantification of starting material) obtained from the analysis. One particular type of error is a jump error. The cause of these jumps may be due to air bubbles, droplets on cover film, altered meniscus, particulates, thermal, or other issues.
Therefore it is desirable to provide systems and methods for detecting and potentially correcting jump errors in data from growth processes.